Create Monumental Personal & Business Change – Pt. 1

Creating monumental change can be daunting. The process, however, is simple. No really, I mean that. Achieving big, even outrageous change can be done simply.

It’s as simple as walking or running. It works for both individuals and businesses. Use it and you can change your life and achieve wildly incredible business goals.

I should know. I applied the strategies to create a monumental, and much needed, change in my own life. It may seem odd for a business blog to talk about a big personal success, but as Director of Project Management for Be Found Online, it fits.

So what makes change manageable? Like any project, it comes in three parts: goal setting, planning, and execution. To reflect the importance of each of these three elements, I’ve broken this series into three sections. This first part starts with goal setting and for me, the story begins with a confession.

My First Step

In March of 2013, I was extremely overweight and unhappy. I wanted to lose weight so I started a diet. I was having success but wondered if I could speed it up by adding running into the mix.

At that time, I didn’t work out and wasn’t sure how this would go. That’s when my project management background kicked-in. Recognizing my physical condition, I set a small, short-term goal: the first day, I would run to the end of the block.

Now, it might seem like setting a bigger more audacious long-term goal would have been better. Often that’s not the case, either in life or in project management. Big goals can be set after you do a little data gathering and you understand the variables involved including the current state of what you and your team can do. Until then, you need to set small goals to determine what can be done.

And that’s what I did to start running. Now, at the time I lived at the end of a small cul-de-sac. This was not a long run.

As I approached the end of the block, my body ached. I was out of breath. I wanted to stop, turn around, go home and give up.

I didn’t. At the end of the cul-de-sac, I caught my breath and realized I had succeeded at what yesterday seemed like an insurmountable goal.

Now I knew what I could do. Now it was time to set a bigger goal. One that required a deeper commitment so I could resist the desire to give up.

Goal Setting

The first step for any project manager is to set goals. These goals however cannot be based on dreams, wishes and hopes. For a chance of success, they must be based on a concrete knowledge of what CAN be accomplished by an individual or a team.

When I stopped that first day, I knew I could go that far. That’s the first step in goal setting. Determine what can be done.

With this information, it’s time to take the next step. Set a bigger goal and give it a deadline. For me, I wanted to run a 5k by summer. Then, break it down into smaller, discrete tasks with a goal set for each day.

The next day my task was to run to the end of the block and down to the corner. The following day, I set out for a little further. By July, I ran a 5k.

Then I set my next goal – a marathon.

December 2012 Marathon

Aim High and Celebrate Success

At the beginning of this post, I noted desiring change is easy. But I’ll also acknowledge I wanted to quit and often faced discouragement. That’s where the second and third parts get involved.

Part two requires planning. Part 3 requires execution. Some might call it daunting.

Wait, daunting? You said creating change was simple.

I did. It is. Working toward a goal on your own and with a team is not daunting.

The daunting part isn’t necessarily the work itself. It’s the commitment. The same goes for every other project or task anyone anywhere does. That’s why it’s essential you surround yourself with a committed team who enjoys the work they do.

Join me in the next piece next week where I will share insights about project planning, and why my team at BFO played an integral role in my personal success!